During his student days at Purdue, Gordon Binder followed his own advice and set out to educate himself in the classroom and out. He was an active member of the Camera Club, Gimlet, Phi Eta Sigma, Sigma Delta Chi, Kappa Sigma, Quarterdeck, and the Exponent. As a senior he was managing editor of the Exponent.

Upon receiving his BSEE in 1957, he entered the U. S. Navy. After three years in the service, he entered graduate school at Harvard where he completed his MBA in 1962. Binder joined Litton Industries that year and in 1964 accepted a position with Ford Motor Company. At Ford he served in a variety of financial positions and rose to become vice president/finance and treasurer of the System Development Corporation.

In 1982, Binder became vice president and chief financial officer of Amgen, Inc., a company which applies molecular biology to the development of pharmaceuticals. In 1988 he was elected chief executive officer of the company, the largest independent biotechnology company in the United States. Since 1990 he has served as both chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Amgen.

Binder is a member of the Healthcare Leadership Council and a board member of the Industrial Biotechnology Association and the National Health Foundation. He is a board member of Vital Options, a support service for young adults with cancer, and a member of a community fundraising group, the National Health Foundation.

In 1991, he received The Wall Street Transcript Silver Medal Award Biotechnology and the Southern California Planning Forum Mark of Excellence Award. Binder was named a Purdue Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 1992.